sleepy sunday morning.

sometimes its nice to not do anything, including getting out of bed, until noontime on sunny breezy sunday mornings... both cats are napping in the kitchen windows, pat is still asleep, and i just got myself up (i start to feel guilty after a while ;)).. my favorite thing to do on sunday mornings is browse through the real estate section of craigslist, and dream of the house i may have some day. pat and i have both voiced that we'd like to someday move out of the city, possibly to a nice suburb-y area. it would save us a lot of money, and we could have a yard and bigger place. this is far off into the future, however; it will be another year almost until we can move to a bigger apartment (our lease will be up in june) -- baby steps.

i watched HGTV for hours last night while sewing, i love the decorating shows so much. i'm so envious of the large space, the painted walls, the modern furniture. we have nice things here, and everything fits, its just small. the building itself is so old that its musty when the windows are closed. i long for larger windows and a second bedroom. a new dining room set. new kitchen curtains!

i have a few ideas of things we can do here, but our living room is so small and our furniture so large that we really can't move anything around. and its frustrating! because those design shows give me so many ideas!!!

gift in progress.

this quilt is a project i'm excited about, because it will actually be given as a gift (which doesn't get to happen very often since most of my sewing is for custom orders or for my shop!)... pat and i are going to a wedding this fall and have decided since they are not registered anywhere that we could find, this would be the best gift.

it will be a four patch design, using 4- 3" squares to form each block. they are being arranged and sewn randomly to make it more fun.

(click the photos to make them a bit larger...)
these are for the larger blocks:

these are for the smaller four patches:

...which i'd already started chain stitching two by two:

i have less than a month to get this finished, but luckily it is next in line and should go together pretty quickly. i've made other four patch quilts, which can be seen here and here. its a very easy design, but can be very interesting depending on which fabrics you use! they always look different.

i've finished the four patches, and gotten it all laid out. first i place the larger squares and fill in the empty spots with four patches that look good. since they were all sewn randomly, they are all different.

(click to see bigger!)



i had to use my flash for the photos so the colors aren't exactly true... but i wanted to stay with mostly neutral tones of light brown, cream, aqua, yellow, and green. (their wedding invitations were a cream with sage green, really beautiful.) i am planning on doing a thin light brown/cream damask border edged with a thicker solid (sage/light) green border, and backing it with a solid aqua or green. ...i tried to keep most of the fabrics modern, since they are a young couple like us, but throw in a few more tradtional prints here and there to make it interesting. it may seem random, but honestly in person it looks actually very pretty.

now the hard part: getting it all sewn together ;)

rejuvinated.

i spent this morning getting a haircut (i wish she could do my hair for me every day. it looked so fabulous until i went outside into the breeze ;).. she actually didn't take off any length, just razored the daylights out of it to give it some shape) and a pedicure (SOOOO NICE), walking across town to the small/awesome fabric store (which was fabulous), sitting in our little backyard alcove with a book in the sunshine... and am hunkering down for a (fleeting) summer night of sewing (while pat works an overnight double. boooo.)


this is what i'm reading right now... i just started it the other night. i have read another book that was similar and loved it, so i'm excited/nerdy.
oh, and i got new glasses! they are simple black dolce & gabanna, and are only half frames which i found i really like!

custom baby quilt for meghan.

(you can click the photos to make them a little bigger..)



this is one of this weekend's sewing projects.. meghan requested a custom baby quilt (to give to a friend as a gift), with reds whites and teals. the colors are actually very pretty together! i will be adding a thin solid red border (thinner than the white cross bars), and the backing will be a solid teal (the binding will be teal as well). i haven't decided yet if i will do the top stitching in white, red, or teal!

HUGE SALE!

i am having the biggest end of summer sale i've ever had over at the etsy shop....
quilts are marked down to $40-$75 (originally $65-$100!!)!
there are some pillows for $15!!
this is all to get ready for fall/winter...
and the sale isn't going to last long, so hurry to shop for those things you like!


xo

inspiration for the weekend!

my weekend:

saturday = haircut, pedicure, fabric shopping?, cleaning, working on meghan's custom quilt

sunday = more cleaning, more sewing

monday = spending the holiday off with the boyfriend and celebrating his birthday early (its on tuesday)


next week-------> weekend getaway!! hotel!! gorgeous scenery! pool and hot tub! relaxingggggggggggg.... and i cannot wait. ...just have to get through next week ;)

sigh.

so, its only tuesday, but i already have this feeling like friday will never get here this week... its just been one of THOSE work weeks so far, and i'm overloaded with sewing projects to get done in a timely fashion (which i love, don't get me wrong, it can just be a little overwhelming sometimes), my bedroom is a disaster and i have no idea when i'll get to clean it, the laundry is piling up, pat's working a double this weekend (which means saturday he works 2pm-6am, and then goes in sunday 2pm-11pm!)...

so i've done a few things. ....i've ordered some new fabric and taken on one more custom baby quilt order. i cannot wait to get these fabric goodies in the mail this week, its going to make coming home at 7pm much much better... i've made an appointment for saturday morning at 9am (since pat will need to get good sleep until he goes in to work) at a spa/salon for a hair cut and a pedicure. <--- not something i normally do to treat myself, but i need a haircut so badly, and i've never had a pedi (my feet are so nasty from being on them ALL DAY). and i just have to remember that the following weekend we are going on our overnight trip to rockport. all will be well. but seriously, i'm exhausted.

but! more on my hair... most people want to add volume to their hair, and i need to do the opposite. it needs to be razored out so badly. i'm not even sure how long it is in places because its just too thick to wear without pinning it aside. its got so shape! (this comes from months and months and months of not going to a salon for a proper cut, and hacking it off the bottom in the back by myself to avoid a mullet...ugh.) so, i think this is sort of what i'm going for:



nothing drastic and not too short (pat doesn't like it when i cut it too short. he thinks i'm prettier with longer hair.), just a good cut. now i'm hoping the stylist who is doing my hair will be hip and cool and funky enough to give me a good cut like i want! i don't mind flat ironing it every day if i have to (plus, that would give me an awesome excuse to get a new flat iron like i've been wanting to do for about a year ;)).

pam's custom crib quilt - finished!

(click on the photos to see them a bit bigger..)

monday.

the weekends are never long enough, are they?? i didn't get half of the sewing done that i wanted to this weekend, but i did get a head start on a quilt i'm making as a gift. i also got to the fabric store to get some more pillow forms while they were on sale. i've been ordering some fabric lately that should come this week, and i'm super excited.... some for another custom baby quilt, a scrap grab bag, some fat quarters... it will be fun to get everything in the mail! this week i will be finishing up pam's baby quilt, and getting started on another custom one which is red, teal, and white. i hope to get pictures of all of these as i go along! i've got some other baby quilts in the designing stage for my etsy shop, which i hope to get done in between projects.

right now i'm just so tired from work i want to sit here like a lump on the sofa, but! its time to sew!

oh my gosh, i am so glad it is finally the weekend! the ORs were so busy and crazy this week, its nice to have a couple of days to do things around the apartment and chill out! ...i'm about ready to clean the bathroom and kitchen, those are my projects for tonight :)

pam's custom crib quilt.

i've got a good start on pam's custom crib quilt, which will look somewhat similar to another custom crib quilt i made last month; but slightly different... pam's artwork can be found here and here. i have a few of her scissors thimbles and buttons prints in my sewing area <3 she is a wonderful artist, friend, and mother; so i am super excited to be creating this quilt for her new tiny little baby that is almost ready to be born. boy #3!! i have a good head start but it will be my main project for the next week or so.
i have another baby quilt in the works for another custom order, and also one i am going to start at some point asap to give as a gift-- that one will be a bit bigger and more time consuming. oyy.
but tonight i am spending a little time tidying up around my sewing area and being productive! yay summer nights...

after a few days of preparation, the new pillows are finally up in my shop :)

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade littlelegwarmers.etsy.com

<3

so, someday i will have an awesome sewing room all to myself. (**click on the photo to see it larger, and drool!) and i know i keep saying that, but honestly i really need it.... you should have seen me all sprawled out across the living room floor tonight. it was awful. i have to vacuum every time i want to lay fabric on the floor. omg, can you imagine if i had wood floors or tile? soooo much easier, sweeep! or better yet, one of those huuuge desks like in the photo! ...i just don't have enough space. plus theres tons of clean laundry on the edges of the living room just waiting to be put away. gahhh.
the good news is that i am about 95% done with the custom quilt i've been working on (the batiks i posted last week), and i got a head start on pam's baby quilt tonight! i have one more on the back burner after hers, which should not take me long to make at all, and then i am making one for a gift. oh lordy, so much sewing. and i love it. now, if only i had more space..... ;)

YAY!

i just called to book our overnight vacation for sept 6th! we didn't splurge for the jacuzzi room, which was an extra one hundred dollars and come to find out it doesn't include any meals. so we got a regular ocean view room with a queen bed, and the 'coastal break' package which includes dinner and breakfast. so, no jacuzzi room, but i am sure we will find other ways to relax (ie: walking around the grounds, watching tv, sleeeeeeping...).

scroll down a few posts to see pictures of the hotel if you missed it before :) yay. an overnight vacation in a few weeks! i'm super excited. we really need a small relaxing getaway. and i love that our meals are covered, that is one less thing to worry about in a place we've never been before (i always stress about where to eat whenever we go anywhere..). packing will be a breeze since its just one night, but its a pretty swanky place, so we'll have to pack our nice clothes ;) and you KNOW i'm going to get a ton of pictures.

oh, and i ordered pat's birthday presents today. and one is a total surprise! :) sshhh...

pillows.

these pillow covers are soon to have pillow forms in them, and soon to be in the etsy shop!

...hopefully alongside a few more...
(not sure if you can tell from this photo, but they are all top stitched with batting underneath to make them like little quilts!)

new!

i made this, this weekend :)


...and i love it. i used Full Moon Forest fabrics, with little damask bunnies and jumping fishies. its all top stitched and totally machine washable and cozy and snuggly. i hope it ends up in a good home <3

this weekend i am also working on some new pillows for the shop, and getting started on 2 (yes, 2, at once..) custom baby quilts!

new amy butler home dec fabric:

LOVE.

overnight vacation.

tomorrow is payday for the boyfriend & i (one of the perks of working at the same place -- hospital -- is having the same payday!)... and we'll be deciding if we are indeed going on an overnight vacation for his 27th birthday. his actual birthday is sept 2nd, but we'd be going sept 6th (saturday night).
this is the place we've been looking into, the samoset resort, in rockport, ME.







we are totally in love with the idea of a getaway from the city for a night... we just have to make sure we can afford it comfortably. they even have rooms that have private decks with private jacuzzis on them. i am so there ;)

weddings.

weddings are special things, this i know. having worked in a bridal salon, i know all too well (somewhere in between first hand and second hand ...and third and fourth and ninth hand...) the stresses that accompany tying the knot. i've seen brides flip out. i've listened to (non bridal salon) co-workers complain about dress fittings. i've listened to friends discuss the woes of finding good venues and not having enough money. i've seen the disappointment in brides who realize not everyone they'd hoped would be able to attend their wedding actually will. i've heard horror stories from a friend of mine who is a (wedding) photographer. we all want that special day to be perfect, and lets face it, what are the chances? and in thinking about this all very recently (having received two wedding invites in the past few weeks-- one which we cannot attend, and another we can), i have only reinforced what i have known all along: i will elope. someday. when the time comes, i will be a bride at city hall. i will have a nice big reception party, with fabulous decorations and lights and music and dancing and food. but i will have none of that bridal business-- no bridesmaids, no fuss. i will make my own dress. having worked in a bridal salon dressing brides on a daily basis, i realized i don't want "the big dress", i'm just not that kind of girl. but i will plan everything myself. and it will probably end up being in my aunt's back yard with a big tent and lots of lights and candles and flowers! but seriously. i want the celebration, and none of the rest. not celebration, as in: oh good, a reason to party. but celebration, as in: i love this person, and we are already married, now lets enjoy that. whoever can attend is welcome. everyone else can send a card. every bride i've ever known, with the exception of one or two, has been completely stressed out about getting married.

and the good news is i don't have to really think about it right now at all. c'est la vie....

rae-rae took this of me this past weekend. i was scaling the rocks back up the cliff to get away from what seemed like a huge pit of spiders. seriously, rocks by the ocean, spiders love 'em. i was freaking out, but took a moment to pose. ha!

for dressup this fall, i love:

(ring:)




haha, my true 80's self makes an appearance:

custom work.

this is a custom quilt i am working on this week... its a 4 patch design, meaning that it alternates solid squares and blocks made of 4 squares. its a relatively easy design, but i think depending on the fabrics used it can really look interesting. in this case, i've used all batik prints (per request of the customer) in warm tones (with a few cool squares mixed in for fun here and there). i'm hoping the customer is going to like it! i'll be spending this week and all day saturday getting it finished up for her (as close as i can get), she is giving it as a gift :)


once i am done with this project, i can start work on pam's baby quilt! it is all planned out and the piles of fabric are sitting on my desk waiting their turn, patiently! ...and probably at the same time i'm working on hers, i am also going to be doing another custom baby quilt (a 24x24" size) of reds, aquas, and whites. polka dots, stripes, and solids. i have to get to the fabric store this weekend to get supplies for that one.... so many projects!